At that, Henry stepped out first without saying anything.
Jedrier quickly tried to get ahead of him, but failed. The owner of the haberdashery was standing near the door.
The man bowed deeply, catching Jedrier off guard. Jedrier was about to bow in return, but Henry stopped him with such smooth, natural ease that it seemed almost effortless.
“A-are you leaving?”
“…Yeees.”
Having missed his chance to return the greeting, Jedrier lifted the corners of his lips at the man, who was sweating profusely.
“Please come again!”
“I’ll definitely come back next time.”
He added that last part because he was worried the owner might stop them from leaving and ask why they had bought nothing.
Perhaps because of that, the man immediately opened the door for them.
“You don’t have to— ah, n-no. I’ll be waiting for you.”
Jedrier carefully tugged at Henry’s clothes.
“G-go, goo, good hea— take care.”
The friendly haberdashery owner called out a farewell from behind them.
Since this was a place he would never be able to come back to, Jedrier’s conscience prickled, and he hurried his steps.
“Hm?”
The sun seemed to have dipped a little.
Had they really been inside the shop that long?
“Lord Jeri.”
“Mhm.”
“Since we’re already out, shall we eat outside before going back?”
The thought, ‘What about the money…?’ must have shown on his face, because Henry smiled as though telling him not to worry.
“I know a place that’s cheap, delicious, and serves large portions.”
A place like that existed?
Well, he supposed wherever people lived, things were more or less the same.
His heart swelling with anticipation, Jedrier said the most important thing at that moment.
“Next time, I’ll definitely treat you.”
“Yes.”
It was a promise he wouldn’t be able to keep….
No.
Maybe there would at least be enough time to buy Henry one meal before he fled the palace?
Even as Jedrier comforted himself with that thought, part of him still felt uneasy.
Then Henry held out his pinky finger.
And he was looking at Jedrier as though asking why he wasn’t doing it.
Jedrier felt a pang of guilt.
To hurt such an innocent child who knew absolutely nothing….
Was it really all right for a person to behave this way?
‘…For now, I need to think only about myself.’
Jedrier slowly raised his hand and hooked his own pinky around Henry’s.
The uncomfortable feeling remained even after they arrived at the restaurant.
Jedrier blinked slowly as he looked at Henry’s handsome face, so perfect it seemed drawn.
The place around them was bustling.
The loud voices of people gathered together rose and fell, brushing past his ears again and again.
The sun was still up in the sky, but there were already a few people enjoying beer.
“Is there anything you can’t eat?”
“I eat pretty much everything.”
Even the way Henry nodded as though he understood looked handsome.
Jedrier stared blankly at Henry as he called over a server and ordered a great deal of food in his smooth voice, then eventually turned his gaze away.
When he had first opened his eyes in this world, he had never imagined he would experience something like this.
Getting a manservant, leaving the palace with him, and wandering around the marketplace like this were all unfamiliar experiences.
Before long, the table was filled with all kinds of food.
Steam rose gently from the dishes.
It was the first time Jedrier had seen such a sight since coming to this world.
‘How long has it been since I had warm food?’
He was so moved that his hands actually trembled.
Jedrier quickly tore off a chicken leg and placed it on Henry’s plate.
“I’ll enjoy the meal, Henry.”
If it hadn’t been for Henry, he never would have been able to experience this.
That was why it felt precious.
And special.
‘I should try a little of everything.’
His old self had been a big eater who could easily polish off three bowls of rice, but he had no idea what Jedrier’s body was like.
On top of that, he had spent about a week eating little more than grass, so if he got greedy and ended up with an upset stomach, it would be a disaster.
They couldn’t even call a doctor, so he had to be careful.
Very careful.
Besides, if he got sick… the one who would suffer would be Henry.
Their living conditions were already terrible enough.
He couldn’t make Henry nurse him on top of that.
So Jedrier carefully filled his stomach bit by bit, tasting the food in small amounts like a squirrel.
“Is it good?”
“…Yes.”
Jedrier placed the remaining chicken leg onto Henry’s plate, which had somehow already become empty.
‘A child who eats this well….’
And he had only been feeding him salad with not a scrap of meat in sight.
How hungry must Henry have been?
As the person who was supposed to be looking after him, Jedrier felt uncomfortable about it.
Even if he couldn’t give Henry power, at the very least, he wanted to make sure he could eat his fill.
“Are you not going to eat any more?”
See?
He was so kind.
Why had they sent a child like this off to some crumbling palace shoved into a corner?
Jedrier didn’t know the full circumstances, but he was certain it couldn’t have been Henry’s fault.
“I’m full.”
He hoped Henry could return to somewhere warm and comfortable as soon as possible.
And yet, even while thinking that, Jedrier knew that deep inside his chest lurked a wish for Henry not to leave.
He deliberately ignored that feeling.
It was not something someone like him, who would soon be gone, had any right to harbor.
After they had eaten their fill, they headed to the grocery shop Henry said he knew well.
They bought vegetables that would keep for a long time, meat that had to be eaten relatively quickly but absolutely couldn’t be left out, and a few fruits for snacks.
By the time the basket was full of food, the corners of Jedrier’s mouth were twitching upward all on their own.
‘This should last us ten days.’
He had tried to buy things that would keep for as long as possible….
Even so, they should ration them.
There was no telling what might happen.
Even if going outside was allowed freely today, there was no guarantee it would remain that way next time.
The Emperor in <The Emperor Who Doesn’t Know Love Is Too Much!> changed the rules at the drop of a hat.
Something he laughed off today could become a crime punishable by death tomorrow.
“Is there anything you want to eat, Henry?”
“…Do you know how to cook?”
“Of course. I can make simple things.”
He might look like this now, but before transmigrating, cooking had been one of his hobbies.
As long as he had enough ingredients, he could make plenty of decent dishes.
“It’ll be my first time cooking for someone else.”
“…Is that so?”
“You should consider it an honor, okay?”
“Yees.”
But this would be his first time cooking in this body….
He could do it, right?
His confidence suddenly plummeted straight down.
After boasting this much, what if he ruined food made with these precious ingredients…?
Wouldn’t that make him just as insane as the Emperor?
No, no.
Their Henry would never think something like that.
Because.
‘Henry is too kind.’
That had to be why he had eaten even that wilted, limp salad as though it tasted good.
So Jedrier knew that even if his cooking turned out terribly this time, Henry would eat it without showing a thing.
If nothing else, that was somewhat comforting.
“I’ll carry it.”
Jedrier reached for the heavy-looking basket, but Henry immediately stopped him.
“I’ll carry it.”
“You carry it up to there, and I’ll carry it from there to the palace.”
“Yes, yes.”
That was what Henry said, but he never handed over the basket for the entire trip back to the palace.
Jedrier had worried that the knights at the palace entrance might stop them, but they let them inside without asking a single question.
They didn’t ask what they had bought.
They didn’t ask why they had gone out.
Was it really all right for security at the Imperial Palace to be like this…?
Wasn’t it far too lax?
Of course, something like that would never happen, but what if he and Henry were actually spies from an enemy nation who had infiltrated the palace to steal imperial secrets?
Unresolved questions kept forcing their way into his mind, but they soon disappeared.
‘Come on, is this really the time to worry about that? I have enough problems of my own.’
Throwing away that pointless concern, Jedrier finally reached the palace.
And while putting away the ingredients Henry had set down, he realized something horrifying.
‘…What do I do?’
He couldn’t understand why he had only realized something this important now!
Jedrier immediately ran to Henry.
“We have a huge problem, Henry.”
“What is it this time?”
And it seemed Henry hadn’t noticed that tiny yet enormous issue either.
Henry hadn’t been here long, so that was understandable, but how could Jedrier have lived here for an entire week and still be this stupid?
He couldn’t believe it.
“We don’t have fire.”
A small smile appeared on Henry’s previously stiff face.
“I’ll chop firewood that we can use to start a fire. So don’t worry. If His Majesty questions you about it later, you may give him my name.”
Jedrier reached out as though saying that wasn’t what he meant and took one of Henry’s hands.
“Why would I give His Majesty your name? Right now, you’re my person, so every mistake you make is my mistake too. If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility for all of it.”
“…….”
“That’s not what’s important right now, Henry. Even if we have firewood, we don’t have the most important thing—the fire itself.”
What good was firewood when they had no fire…?
There was no way any embers would still be left in an abandoned palace, and there wasn’t even any tool for starting one.
“So we can’t cook the meat….”
Therefore, all that meat they had worked so hard to buy couldn’t be eaten.
Ah.
If he had known this would happen, he should have bought meat that could be eaten raw.
Regret came crashing over him like a wave.
‘We bought it with Henry’s precious money.’
How could he make such a stupid mistake?
If it had been his own money, it wouldn’t have hurt this much.
The thought that he had wasted Henry’s money made the tip of Jedrier’s nose sting.
“Sorry….”
Above his head, he heard Henry let out a deep sigh.